Riding in the Snow
- Thread starter latheboy
- Start date
thematerialquestion
Likes Bikes
Its snowing on Big Hill, Mount Beauty as we speak! Good luck!
harmonix1234
Eats Squid
It's horrible.
My experience riding in the snow in Tassie. (-2 to 0 degrees around upper Mt Wellington range and summit in middle of Winter, approx 4 hours of exploring).
If you wear bulky clothes to keep warm then you sweat, and get chills. If you wear leg warmers and a light breathable jacket they quickly get wet with slush from the front tyres and your whole body can't warm up (didn't have mud guards).
Descending at speed becomes terrifying as your fingers go so numb that you can't actually feel the brake levers (even with good gloves) and the only way you know they are working is the sensation of slowing down and looking at your hands to make sure your fingers are still wrapped around your grips properly. And having to stop every five minutes to un-cramp the fingers by sticking them down the front of your pants and warming them up. And the numb burning toes.
Ruts become invisible, and get ready to go over the bars, or fall over a lot on slippery tree roots, rocks and logs under wheel covered by snow. That stuff can go from tyre tread to bottom bracket deep in a bike length.
I had 2.1 tyres. Stupid.
I should have gone 2.4 with a low psi.
Rocks on some climbs will also be icy even though they look clean and slip when even the smallest amount of torque is applied.
Smashing parts of your body on things seems to hurt a million times more than normal.
It may look like blue skies on the ground, but once your'e up there it can turn to a freezing nightmare in five minutes. I tried descending in a snow dump and I will never do it again. Dangerous and stupid.
However, if you had good weather, weren't doing it solo, some super fat tyres, and some well groomed/not rocky/rooty/rutty trails, proper clothes, and not 0 degrees you could have a lot of fun.
Pointing out all the negatives here sorry. But I just remember getting home and jumping in a hot shower numb from head to toe thinking "Stupid stupid, never doing that again". Took two days to get the pins and needles out of my hands and feet.
Had I been prepared with the right gear, and with another rider it may have made all the difference to my experience.
As for the places you speak of, I cannot comment as I have never ridden there.
My experience riding in the snow in Tassie. (-2 to 0 degrees around upper Mt Wellington range and summit in middle of Winter, approx 4 hours of exploring).
If you wear bulky clothes to keep warm then you sweat, and get chills. If you wear leg warmers and a light breathable jacket they quickly get wet with slush from the front tyres and your whole body can't warm up (didn't have mud guards).
Descending at speed becomes terrifying as your fingers go so numb that you can't actually feel the brake levers (even with good gloves) and the only way you know they are working is the sensation of slowing down and looking at your hands to make sure your fingers are still wrapped around your grips properly. And having to stop every five minutes to un-cramp the fingers by sticking them down the front of your pants and warming them up. And the numb burning toes.
Ruts become invisible, and get ready to go over the bars, or fall over a lot on slippery tree roots, rocks and logs under wheel covered by snow. That stuff can go from tyre tread to bottom bracket deep in a bike length.
I had 2.1 tyres. Stupid.
I should have gone 2.4 with a low psi.
Rocks on some climbs will also be icy even though they look clean and slip when even the smallest amount of torque is applied.
Smashing parts of your body on things seems to hurt a million times more than normal.
It may look like blue skies on the ground, but once your'e up there it can turn to a freezing nightmare in five minutes. I tried descending in a snow dump and I will never do it again. Dangerous and stupid.
However, if you had good weather, weren't doing it solo, some super fat tyres, and some well groomed/not rocky/rooty/rutty trails, proper clothes, and not 0 degrees you could have a lot of fun.
Pointing out all the negatives here sorry. But I just remember getting home and jumping in a hot shower numb from head to toe thinking "Stupid stupid, never doing that again". Took two days to get the pins and needles out of my hands and feet.
Had I been prepared with the right gear, and with another rider it may have made all the difference to my experience.
As for the places you speak of, I cannot comment as I have never ridden there.
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thematerialquestion
Likes Bikes
+1, its all true! There really is no joy in it.
'Snow-biking' has taken off in Falls Creek. Its pretty much a bike with no wheels slapped onto a snowboard (you get the picture...) and then smashing down the ski runs.
'Snow-biking' has taken off in Falls Creek. Its pretty much a bike with no wheels slapped onto a snowboard (you get the picture...) and then smashing down the ski runs.
harmonix1234
Eats Squid
You can now buy a kit for your bike and adapt any MTB to a snow bike.
*edit* Here it is. Conversion kit from Ktrak. About $300 USD.
[video=youtube;HP4VwaD7rd4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP4VwaD7rd4[/video]
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digitalhippie
Likes Dirt
On one of these bikes, in a place where they get big arse winters.... sweet!
[video=vimeo;17968756]http://vimeo.com/17968756[/video]
[video=vimeo;17968756]http://vimeo.com/17968756[/video]
digitalhippie
Likes Dirt
latheboy you got me thinking now... all misty eyed too! 
I lived up at Falls Creek in the late 80's/early 90's and during Winters got out on my Stumpy every now and then. After a good freeze you could get out early and check out the high plains on the cross country ski trails before they softened. Only had narrow tires back then, had some big stacks when the front tire would break through the thin frozen layer and come to an immediate stop. Groomed downhill trails in the resort were also a hoot. Should've gotten out more looking back on it.
Lots of fun on snow bikes though. Digging through stuff here's a pic I found from 89-90, I'm in the blue about to whoop the other guy down the course.
I reckon get out early before the snow goes to slush, with big tires, low pressure.. carve some turns on the groomed runs! The downhill skiers would love that
(and take a POV camera along so we can see the carnage!)
I lived up at Falls Creek in the late 80's/early 90's and during Winters got out on my Stumpy every now and then. After a good freeze you could get out early and check out the high plains on the cross country ski trails before they softened. Only had narrow tires back then, had some big stacks when the front tire would break through the thin frozen layer and come to an immediate stop. Groomed downhill trails in the resort were also a hoot. Should've gotten out more looking back on it.
Lots of fun on snow bikes though. Digging through stuff here's a pic I found from 89-90, I'm in the blue about to whoop the other guy down the course.
I reckon get out early before the snow goes to slush, with big tires, low pressure.. carve some turns on the groomed runs! The downhill skiers would love that
(and take a POV camera along so we can see the carnage!)
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digitalhippie
Likes Dirt
I think the thermal protection was provided by the tins of VB in the snow